


The Runaway

by Lomonte



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (so you agree? you think you're funny?), Established Relationship, Established Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), F/F, Friendship, Humor, Lesbian Toph Beifong, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon, This is not a Crackfic, Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Toph Beifong-centric, Toph doesn't notice that Sokka and Zuko actually Do Help she's too busy trying not to throttle them, Zuko/Therapy (mentioned), all characters are in their twenties, even though it says remy from ratatouille mentioned, love advisors sokka and zuko, toph making the horrible and terrible decision of asking sokka and zuko for advice, toph: LOVELY!! im going to fucking throw myself off a bridge, toph: feels one (1) insecurity, zuko sokka and toph all share one braincell and they pass it around like a blunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26172940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lomonte/pseuds/Lomonte
Summary: [ “Because you’re asking so nicely,” Sokka said, digging into his food, “Toph, tonight we will be youlove advisors.”Zuko made a noise.“Oh, I hate that.” ]Toph feels out of her depth after realizing she has a massive and extremely inconvenient crush on her new friend and makes the mistake of going to the Southern Water Tribe ambassador and his husband the Fire Lord for advice.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko & Sokka, Toph Beifong/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 243





	The Runaway

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xChocolateCookie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xChocolateCookie/gifts).



> no trigger warnings apply, though there are mentions of PTSD and therapy.  
> zuko and sokka are both around 26 in this fic and toph is around 22/23  
> spot the remy from ratatouille cameo that katja forced me to put in here

Toph could pinpoint the exact moment she fell for Myra.

She had never really been the one for crushes and stuff- never had been very interested in them and rarely found the time. Myra had been a friend, (a new one, one found in Caldera, a _fresh_ one), a very good one. She was smart and funny and blunt in a sugary way that complimented Toph’s propensity for saying exactly what she thought. She was kind and witty and shared parts of herself without preamble. Myra was one of Toph’s closest friends, until it all went terribly and horribly wrong, and it had all been Toph’s fault.

They had been scarfing down ridiculously expensive noodles (paid for with Toph’s Fire Lord sanctioned allowance) in the heart of Caldera. Toph had made an (admittedly hilarious) joke, and then suddenly Myra was choking on her noodles and laughing hysterically; managing to outrage the entire fancy establishment. Toph had joined in, and made the big mistake of listening intently to the frankly disgusting sound of someone losing their shit around a mouthful of half chewed noodles, and it had hit her like a truck.  
She had a crush on her friend.  
A big, sappy, undeniable crush.

They kept hanging out as always, which just made things worse for Toph. It was worse because she felt her heart blooming like a blossom at every laugh, her skin spark with electricity with every touch, her cheeks warm like the sun at every kind comment.  
The worst was, though, that Toph was starting to either imagine or notice that Myra was also acting… different.

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Myra’s touches lingered on her like they didn’t on others, hugs and kisses on her cheeks became more frequent, and she felt Myra’s heart speed up sometimes in a way she recognized Aang’s heart doing when Katara looked at him. 

Toph and Myra had been practically joined at the hip for a year and a half or so, so her other friends, her first and oldest friends (not counting the badgermoles) knew Myra too and they _adored her._ Toph wouldn’t blame them, Myra was as close to perfection as humans could get of course, but it did make things more annoying for Toph when her friends had _somehow_ caught wind of her little crush.

Suddenly Katara was asking if Toph would bring Myra along when Katara and Aang were to visit Caldera. Katara _knew_ Toph let Myra read her letters for her and _stupid_ Katara had somehow managed to make the words sound suggestive.

The resident ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe and his husband weren’t much better either. Toph would go as far as to say they were worse. Where Katara at least had some tactful bones in her body, her brother had apparently never felt the need to grow them. He would always ask Toph and Myra questions about how _they_ were doing, and that they made a pretty picture. That last one had made Toph want to scream especially, because she felt Myra’s heartbeat skyrocket (because she was embarrassed or because she had crush? Toph wishes heartbeats would get into the specifics) and Toph’s cheeks heat in a way she was sure was visible. Sokka had paid for that and he had a bruised arm to serve as reminder.  
Zuko, having been in intensive therapy for around a decade and internalizing ‘clear communication is key’, had taken her hand in a moment of privacy, and told her with disgusting earnestness that she could always come to them, that he’s proud of her, that love is worth pursuing, and that she was a _wonderful, strong young woman_. It had made Toph want to absolutely fucking _die,_ but at least it was private. For that (and the effort. Zuko wasn’t great at talking about feelings no matter how much he preached it and the lines in between his brows during his little speech had betrayed his discomfiture (it had also been kinda sweet. She would never admit it)) Toph had only punched him a little bit. 

Suki had been the absolute worst, which Toph would never have guessed in a million years, as she had sat her down and told Toph about how to practice _safe, sane, and consensual sex._ That conversation had ended with Toph speeding out of the house, taking the door and a piece of the wall with her for good measure, outrunning the sound of Suki cackling like the devil.

Anyways, so her friends were monsters.

They _had_ however planted the seed, she supposed. Toph kept thinking about how it would be to not only have Myra as a friend, but as a _girlfriend._ They held hands pretty often, but if they were to be in a relationship it would be _romantic_ handholding. Myra kissed her on the cheek sometimes, but if they were dating wouldn’t she kiss her on the lips? That prospect sounded pretty good.

And now Toph was thinking about dating Myra a _lot_ which was distracting and made her feel giddy at the same time it stressed her out. She knew then that her feelings for Myra were undeniable and that she would have to do something about it at some point. She didn’t think she could keep this up for much longer- if she would her heart would literally just explode, she was pretty sure. She would have to _tell_ Myra, which could go very right and also very wrong, and that hit Toph harder than realizing she had a crush on her friend.

She could fuck this up. She could lose her, or at least, it could change what they had. She didn’t want that, that was the last thing she wanted. Myra was her partner in crime, her confidant, and if Toph did the wrong thing, if she was wrong about this, that would _change._

Toph didn’t have any experience in romance, and was butterfingered in fostering friendships at best. She wasn’t equipped for this. Myra had had both girlfriends and boyfriends, so even if she reciprocated Toph’s feelings, could she be enough? Who said Toph wouldn’t fuck it up? Who said Toph would even get that far? What if Myra would be weirded out by her and wouldn’t want to be friends anymore? She couldn’t lose her; Myra was too important. And now Toph was going to fuck it all up because she caught feelings.

This whole realization was had while sitting right in front of the woman in question, who was looking at her expectantly, silence hanging between them meant for Toph to fill.

“Are you even listening to me?” and Myra said it with a chuckle, because Myra had never even once been mad at Toph no matter how hard Toph had tried (weak, feeble attempts; nothing like what she put Katara through) and Toph suddenly couldn’t think straight, couldn’t breathe.

“Nope!” she answered her, and her voice sounded all forced and loud with a clear undercurrent of panic.

She felt Myra shift, confused, and Toph wanted to tell her, tell her anything and everything. She opened her mouth, closed it again, stood up from the pillow she had been sitting on, and like the true champion she was, did what she knew best.

She ran right out of the door without any explanation. 

* * *

They had told Toph to come for them for advice, they had pretended it was so easy breezy and they made jokes and held Toph’s hand and now they were going to put their money where their mouths were.

* * *

The guards finally knew better than to try and stop her from entering the palace.

She made her way through the marble halls she knew like the back of her hand. Not only had the palace been her second home for a large chunk of her teenage years, she also had a heavy hand in the much needed redecoration of them.

She felt sunlight warm her cheeks and she thought back to the days that she and Zuko had trailed through the palace, pointing and stomping until the halls felt open and fresh and the sun could make its way down onto the walls and carpet. It had been a thorough remodeling (though nothing like the changes they made to the throne room. Now _that_ had been fun) and she had felt so proud and fulfilled about helping Zuko walk the halls of his ancestral home with a lighter step.

It was also nice to know that she could always have a career change and become an architect. At least she would know how stupid it is to not put any windows in a place filled with fire-benders.

She could feel Sokka and Zuko in the garden. She was glad they were together and seemingly enjoying some rare free time- she’d have loathed to have to wait until they got out of some sort of stuffy meeting or only catching one of them.

They were probably sitting at the turtle-duck pond or in the shade of the old willow tree while discussing something boring like the semantics of world peace, or sucking face. As she came closer to the exit, she quieted her footsteps as well as she could; her bare feet almost silent against the cool stone. She grinned.

The tricky and thus fun thing about scaring her friends with her sudden presence was the fact that they were all war heroes and ex-child soldiers. If Toph made one wrong move and made a sound, she’d either ruin the surprise or get a boomerang in her face. It was all part of the thrill.

Being extra agile, the way Aang always tried to show her (even though Twinkletoes was a cheat because unlike her, he could just air-bend agility) she slipped into the garden. Her feet hit the grass and she could sense her friends much clearer now. They were indeed sitting under the willow tree, slumped against each other, discussing something she couldn’t yet overhear.

With every step in their direction she made, she pushed the earth down a little bit to soften the sound of her feet hitting soil.

Honestly, they should thank her for trying to keep them sharp and on their toes. Cushiony palace life probably wasn’t doing their fighting skill a lot of good. Though they had never stood a chance against her anyway.

She could hear them talking now, about Earth Kingdom agriculture and a certain minister they wanted to fight and other dull things and, _ugh_ , were they lucky that Toph was there to interrupt them.

With a high-pitched scream and a push of a column of rocks she threw herself right on front of their feet.

She reveled in their spiking heartbeats and their shouts and the sword against her chest and the heat licking at her legs. She had to give it to them, they had not grown quite as rusty as one might’ve expected; they had been up on their feet and ready to throw down in a millisecond.

“Oh, ohohoh,” she laughed loudly, clutching her stomach as soon as the sword retreated, “oh, I got you guys so fucking good.”

Zuko let go of his fighting stance and gasped for breath while Sokka cursed at her.

“Spirits damned Toph, don’t fucking do that,” he breathed, voice high like it had been in his teenage years, “we could’ve hurt you.”

Toph barked another laugh at that, a clear dismissal.

“I’m having a fucking heart attack,” Zuko gasped, leaning against the bark of the tree.

“Drama Lord,” she ribbed between snorts of laughter.

“You’re a damned nightmare,” Sokka said while sheathing his sword, but he sounded fond and quietly amused.

“I’m just keeping ya’ sharp,” she grinned.

They didn’t thank her.

She sat herself down into the grass, still snickering to herself, enjoying the warmth of the late afternoon sun.

“What brings you here anyway,” Zuko asked, not unkindly, while Sokka sat down in front of her.

Toph pulled at the grass beneath her fingers and threw it in the direction of Sokka, hoping it would fall into his lap.

“Do I need a reason to visit, Sparks?” she asked, feigning innocence. Zuko also sat back down, side leaning against Sokka, who immediately wrapped a practiced arm around his shoulder.

“No, you know you never do,” he answered, “but you haven’t been around a lot the past few months.”

The _I missed you_ goes unsaid, but not unnoticed.

“Ah, well,” she said dismissively, still plucking and throwing grass.

“D’ya want to stay for dinner?” Sokka asked brightly, “There’s a short meeting Mr. Fire Lord needs to attend first-”

Toph groaned loudly at the same time Zuko sighed.

“-but after that we can have dinner, just the three of us.”

She _felt_ both Sokka’s and Zuko’s expectant smiles and she made a show of sighing like a good royal dinner with her friends wasn’t exactly what she had hoped for.

“I guess I’ll stay,” and she knew they knew she gladly accepted the invitation. 

They talked about sophistication in metal-bending and facing ministers of agriculture before Zuko got whisked away by a servant and Sokka and Toph remained. Sokka asked if she wanted to go into the city while Zuko was away but Toph just wanted to stay where they were; the low sun and soft breeze ruffling through the leaves overhead left her lethargic and content. She leaned her back against the tree trunk and thought of all the times she sat here before. When the weather had been somber to match her mood and Katara had diligently braided her hair while talking about adventures and her home, or when the sun was high and she sat here with Suki and Sokka, sweaty and tired after sparring. She thinks of the time where Aang had been sullen and disquieted and she had dragged him here to sit and talk about all the things he’d lost and gained. She thought about the night when she’d run outside after a dream of creaking metal and warm air and dangling in the sky and how Zuko had tucked her under his chin and talked about firelilies and theatre scrolls until she fell into a dreamless sleep. She thought about the time they had all camped in these gardens, talking and laughing until sleep found them under moonlight so white it made Sokka hold her extra tight. Toph thought of the uncountable naps she had taken here. She had done a lot of sleeping in these gardens.

Toph decided to honor tradition and promptly fell asleep against Sokka broad shoulder, awake long enough to hear a chuckle rumble from his chest as he situated himself to be more comfortable. Sokka was kind like that.

She fell asleep like she did a hundred times before, thinking of friends and life and Myra, while the ancient willow tree loomed over her, protective and immovable like it always was.

* * *

She and Sokka were both yawning and a little puffy eyed as they walked to the imposing doors of the dining room after a fresh-faced servant had come to rouse them for dinner. Zuko wasn’t there yet as they sat down on the overly soft pillows, but they wasted no time helping themselves on served drinks and finger food.

The Fire Lord was only half an hour late when he joined them, all tense muscles and familiar apologies for keeping them waiting. He sat down next to Sokka with a grunt and one of the servants, whose name Toph didn’t remember but Zuko did (because that had been a Whole Ordeal in and of itself) shoved a drink in his hand and Zuko thanked her with a grateful smile. Sokka asked him how it went and Zuko waved a dismissive hand at him and turned to Toph instead.

“I’m surprised you didn’t take Myra with you,” he said, his eyes are calculating in the same way they must’ve been minutes ago when he was speaking of politics and double meanings.

Toph shrugged. It’s what she came here for, after all.

“Yeah,” she drawled, “about that…”

Sokka put his glass down. “Did something happen? Don’t tell me you guys are fighting.”

Toph snorted.

“No, we’re not fighting,” and she felt some uncomfortable and unfamiliar annoyance with herself, “ _She_ didn’t do anything.”

She felt Sokka and Zuko turn their heads, probably glancing at each other, doing the silent eyes-conversation thing that Katara found so annoying. Toph bit her lip. She could do this. She was an earth-bender, she just had to barrel through it. Plant her feet, face it head on.

“I fucked up,” she said, plain and clean.

It was Zuko’s turn to put his drink down, but it was Sokka who spoke.

“Wanna tell us what happened?” he asked with the practiced grace of being Katara’s (and Aang’s) older brother. 

Toph grimaced.

“I,” she started, searching for the right words, “sort of ran off.”

She was met with nonplussed silence but she didn’t continue, suddenly questioning if this was a good idea after all. She felt vulnerable in a way she wasn’t used to.

“Why did you run off?” Sokka asked carefully, clearly not understanding what the problem was yet.

Toph took a breath.

“Because I have a huge unavoidable crush on her and I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m afraid I will fuck it up and hurt her feelings and lose my friend.”

If the quick torrent of words caught them by surprise they didn’t show it.

“I see,” Zuko said diplomatically, and it’s only because Toph knows Zuko very well that she heard the amused undercurrent in his voice and she _hated_ it.

Toph crossed her arms.

“Yeah well, now I’m here because you dunderheads are always _bothering me,_ claiming you are love experts because you’re _married_ now, so go ahead, make it count! Advise me!”

They did some synchronized snorting.

“Because you’re asking so nicely,” Sokka said, resuming to dig into his food, “tonight we will be you ~love advisors~.”

Zuko made a noise. “Oh, I hate that.”

Sokka ignored him.

“Toph, tell us everything we might need to know.”

Toph huffed.

“Well I just did, didn’t I? I ran off.”

Zuko let Sokka take the lead in the interrogation.

“But why? Was there a fight? A specific incident?”

She grimaced at him. Had he even been listening?

“No! I just told you! We were just talking and then I just looked at her and then-” she flapped her hands around, words failing her, “Then I knew that if I’d stay, I would say something.” _Something stupid. Something irreversible._

She felt them exchanging glances again and maybe she would’ve minded more if she wasn’t feeling quite so hopeless.

“Tell me about her.”

Toph breathed harshly through her nose.

“Sokka, you’ve seen her like a hundred times.”

Because Toph took Myra everywhere. Because Toph and Myra were joined at the hip. Because Toph’s friends all liked Myra.

Sokka tapped his fingers against the table.

“Just humor me.”

And so she did.

She started out half-heartedly, but then some kind of dam broke and she couldn’t stop the staunchless flow of words.  
She told them about how they met; how Myra had run into her in some seedy part of the city and had pretended Toph was a friend she had been waiting for. She told them about how they hung out often, and that Myra had taken her to karaoke night for the first time and how they had snuck into the royal concert hall when a singer Myra liked had been performing. She told them about how Myra isn’t a bender and fights for shit, and how refreshing that is. She joked about their cooking misadventures (though that had been Toph’s fault on all accounts) and smiled when she talked about how Myra could identify every plant and flower they came across; how she let Toph smell and feel them all. She told them about her voice (crackly and loud) and how her hands feel in hers (always cold and sometimes a little clammy) and how she smelled of ginger (floral in the summer, spicy in the winter). Toph talked and talked and talked and she did so effortlessly, with little comments from her friends.

She felt herself getting less and less antsy. With every story and every drink she finished she felt herself relax. She allowed Sokka and Zuko to exchange glances and the occasional evocative comment, and before she knew it most of the food was gone from the table and it had gone dark outside.

“What was her family-name again?” Zuko asked before requesting a refill from Sokka, who quickly obliged.

“Tazala,” Toph answered, chewing on her last dumpling.

“Oh,” Zuko exclaimed excitedly, “I know that name! Uh, they’re in- no don’t say anything, I’ve got it-”

He snapped his fingers impatiently.

“Her family trades in silks,” Toph deadpanned.

“They’re in silk!” Zuko proclaimed while she was still talking.

This caught Sokka’s attention.

“Oh, are they like, Rich rich?”

Toph attempted to roll her eyes.

“I mean, yeah, sure.” It was nothing compared to Toph’s family name and fortune though. Not that she cared about any of that. 

“Good,” Sokka nodded and raised his half-filled glass into the air, “Marry for money, love will come later.”

Zuko choked on his drink and Toph could feel the death-glare radiating off of him.

But she was not in the mood for a session of royal bickering and thus saved Sokka from sure demise (two birds one stone situation, you’re welcome Sokka) as she sighed and threw her hand on the table.

"Well, first of all, I wouldn't really have to marry for money, now would I, water boy."

Again, she was a _Beifong,_ hello, and her parents still hadn't cut her off, even after all these years. And even if they would, she would just leech off the fire nation's royal family fund; she’d been doing it for years already. Call it reparations (added with the fact that Sparky could never deny her anything).  
Still, her voice didn't sound as passively nonchalant as she had aimed for because _holy shit,_ the thought of _marrying Myra_ \- but she pulled herself together.

"And second of all I haven’t even told her anything yet! We’re still just good friends for all she knows, in case you forgot, that’s kind of the whole problem.”

She crossed her arms. She wasn’t relaxed anymore. Stupid Sokka with his stupid comments.

“But you’re right, she’s got a good name on her,” another thing ‘good’ _,_ another reason why she would never have to look at Toph in the same way Toph looked at her, “she’s got money and a great personality and she’s good at everything and everyone likes her.”

She was being petulant she knew, but she didn’t care. These feelings had been festering for so long now, and Sokka wasn’t taking this seriously enough. Neither of them were! Myra had quickly become one of the most important people in her life and she was about to fuck it all up and all they could do was have a laugh at her expense.

Sokka sat a little straighter, noticing the change in her mood.

“Toph-”

She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. This had been stupid, a dumb idea.

“Just stop, okay. I don’t know why you guys wanted me to go on this whole spiel but I hope it was entertaining for you.”

The only thing it had done was make it more and more clear that Toph wasn’t a viable candidate. That Myra was terribly out of her league, and that Toph could never be enough. Myra deserved everything, certainly not some loudmouth trouble magnet with PTSD and parent issues who on top of that didn’t have any experience in dating.

“Toph, that’s not what we-”

She didn’t let Sokka apologize or explain, because then there was a chance he could make a point.

“She’s way out of my league.” She hated this, she hated that she wasn’t enough and she hated how they now knew that she wasn’t unshakable, “and it’s laughable that I would even entertain the idea of- of her feeling the same. I’m not-”

It was silent on the other side of the table, probably dumbfounded by her sudden outburst. Toph clenched her fists. She wanted to break something. Anger was easier than whatever the heavy feeling in her chest was.

“Whatever. This was stupid.”

She didn’t wait for them to say anything, she didn’t want to hear it. She wanted to be alone and wallow in her self-inflicted rejection. She pushed herself up from the ground and her knee bumped into the table loud enough that the rattling of china echoed through the room.

“Thanks for the food,” she snarked, even though it felt uncomfortably heavy in her stomach now, “See ya.”

She hated running away again, but she was overwhelmed and sad and confused and she just needed to not be close to Sokka and Zuko for a second; who appeared to have it all figured out and were married and perfect and making jokes about how _clueless_ she was. She felt her cheeks redden. Maybe it wasn’t fair, because she had gone to them, but they weren’t _helping_.

She made a quick bow to them (because some proprieties you never unlearn), and got ready to turn around and walk right out of the door. She should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Toph, sit down!”

It made her feet freeze in their tracks, because Zuko was using that particular voice on her (the one that made her feel chastised but not in the horrible and cold way her parents used to do; he sounded like he was her older brother or something which was _stupid_ because yeah, she may have claimed him as sibling when she was 13 but that didn't mean he could order her around like a _child,_ like he had any _authority_ over her (like he cared))— she froze in her tracks.

“Toph Beifong,” and he said the name like it was something to write home about, “greatest earth-bender that’s ever been,” _that_ she knew, “war hero at thirteen years old, enemy of politicians and police, carrier of a heart of gold, funniest person I know,” Sokka made a small offended noise at that before cutting himself off, “- and my dearest friend, you... are a catch.'

She slowly sat herself down, blinking at the sudden praise.

“...Really?”

Sokka nodded enthusiastically, already shoving a new bite of noodles into his mouth.

“Totally!”

Zuko made a sound at his table manners.

“Look at how freaking buff you got Toph!” Sokka continued, “No girl would be able to deny those guns.”

She _had_ been working out, she supposed. She had never really cared about physical appearances and stuff (blind), but she could understand how someone could appreciate someone being strong.

“He's right, Toph," Zuko agreed, and Sokka shifted in his chair at that, no doubt happy with the endorsement, "If she's not going to fall for you she's not going to fall for anyone."

He put the chopsticks to his plate again and took another bite, giving Toph a moment to just blink.  
She felt a little younger than she was, which was a very rare occurrence. She also didn't remember ever feeling this... insecure.

Toph was good at a lot of things, and she was confident in her abilities in almost every field she could think of, but sometimes the fact that her parents hadn’t let her have any friends before age twelve hit her like a sack of bricks and reminded her that she could be socially... Clumsy. Unwieldy.

Most of the time that didn’t really bother her. She had her group of friends who loved her and if people couldn't deal with her; too bad. But now this was about _romance_ and _crushes_ and other things she was wholly inexperienced in. She didn't like feeling out of her dept; it reminded her of being in the water in some way, the familiarity of earth ripped from under her feet and thus her confidence in being able to navigate a situation too.

"You... You really mean that," and she hated how her voice sounded a bit raspy. She was Toph Beifong for spirits sake, her emotions were as unshakeable as the earth she bent! Her heart as hard as the rock she'll throw at your head if you ever see her cry!

Sokka was nodding vigorously again, trying to scarf down his food as quickly as possible while Zuko huffed.

“Of course, you're a delight to be around."

And the way he said it was so easy, so genuine and flat, like it was a solid fact and not an opinion of someone who had no idea what good people looked like for most of his formative years and has questionable taste in husbands.

Still, Toph allowed herself to believe him a little, and found herself smiling a bit bashfully beyond herself.

"Yeah," Sokka agreed, "Toph you're amazing! I know us repeating that will just give you an even bigger ego but honestly, if anyone deserves to have an ego the size of the moon it's you. Not only are you the most talented bender I know,” he put a hand on Zuko’s shoulder, “Sorry, love-"

Zuko just shrugged.

“Oh, don’t be. And I mean I agree,” he assured Toph, “I just think it’s funny that you say that when the Avatar literally officiated our wedding.”

"Well, the Avatar doesn't really count," Sokka argued, previous train of thought left behind for a marital dispute.

"Why doesn't that count?” Zuko objected, “Also, isn't your sister a master water-bender? I'd love to hear what Katara has to say about this."

"Uh, Katara clearly doesn't count either because she’s my little sister and that means I don't recognize her as a person."

Toph grunted, “Guys, I thought we were talking about _me_ here? About how great I was?"

Sokka nodded exaggeratingly at his husband.

“Yeah, Zuko. Stop derailing the conversation.”

Zuko took a sip of his drink instead.

“Anyway as I was saying,” Sokka resumed, before his voice turned earnest again, ”You deserve to be confident in this.” 

Toph chewed her lip, suddenly a bit uncomfortable again. If Sokka noticed it didn’t deter him.

“Toph, you're strong and funny and kind and a big softie under all that dirt and rock and Tough Guy persona.”

“It’s not a persona,” she rebutted, but it wasn’t very convincing and Sokka ignored her anyway.

“And what I admire about you most is how you’re just,” he waved a hand in her direction, “You. Unapologetically one hundred percent you. Everyone should love you for that, and if they don't that's their loss, and you'll know they were never worthy or right for you either."

Okay, so maybe Toph was letting this get to her a little, because her cheeks were heating up and she felt her eyes grow a little wet and _damn it,_ when had Sokka decided heartfelt speeches was something he was good at now.

She asked just that, pointedly ignoring whatever feelings were warring in her chest.

Sokka laughed, brilliant and young, and it reminded Toph of the time she had thought she had a crush on him when they were young. Revisiting it, she could concede that it was still a ‘if I had to pick a dude’ type of situation.

"You pick up some things when you're married to the Lord of Stress Monologues."

"I don't stress monologue," Zuko objected dryly, like they’ve had this conversation a hundred times already.

"Oh, yes you do,” Sokka chortled, “Every time you roll out of those meetings with the generals you rant at me for 20 minutes while pacing a hole in the carpet.”

He turned to face Toph again, hand next to his mouth like he was sharing a secret and this way Zuko wouldn’t be able to hear it.

“The best ones are when he's so sleep deprived he starts reciting romantic theater monologues at me."

Toph groaned at the same time Zuko did.

"Yeah, yeah. Rub it in, you lovebirds love each other,” she complained. “It's disgusting. You've cured me of any want or will to pursue Myra. Thanks guys." She reached for her drink and downed the last of it in one go.

"I could kiss him right now to annoy you but you won't even be able to see that," Sokka teased.

"One of the true joys of being blind is not having to see you two snog," she snarked back.

"Hey,” Sokka, exclaimed, deciding to take offence at that, “at least we're better than Katara and Aang."

"That’s a lie. Also they're on a break again," Toph pointed out.

She felt Sokka sit up.

"Really? Why does no one tell us anything?"

Zuko tapped his chopsticks against the table absentmindedly.

"No I knew,” he reveals to a betrayed gasp from his husband, “Aang sent me a letter about it."

"Wh- and not to me?” Sokka sputters, “My own sister doesn't inform me?"

"You just said you don't view your sister as a person," Zuko reminded him.

"Shut up, you wouldn't understand. You see Azula face to face like three times a week and are _forced_ to talk things out.” He slaps a hand on his heart to accentuate his theatrics. “My poor sister has chosen a life of danger and travel. A nomad, leaving her old brother behind, ne’er reaching out, keeping him in the dark…”

Zuko snorted at that. “Sokka you’re with her for _months_ at the pole every year, and I’m sure she writes you letters very diligently.”

“She does _not!_ ” Sokka doubled down petulantly, “And also stop exchanging vaguely homoerotic letters with the Avatar, what will the historians think?"

Toph couldn’t stop herself from letting out a bark of laughter at that.

Zuko reeled like the comment hit him in the face. " _The historians?_ "

"Yes,” Sokka insisted, “When they go through all your letters, examining the _great Fire Lord Zuko’s_ _relationships and personal life_." He made a movement with his arms. “You know, for the history books.”

Zuko spluttered.

"Wha- _Why_ are you even thinking about that?” Zuko sounded genuinely perplexed. “And I'm not exchanging vaguely homoerotic letters with Aang!--"

Toph tore off a large piece of garlic bread and tried her best to drown out the argument. Let them get it out of their system. Arguing was practically their love language, and who was she to deny them that.  
She thought of Myra, and how she couldn't remember them ever arguing before. They just sort of... Rolled. They got each other. She had never felt so on one wavelength with another person before. When Toph would say something brash Myra would just laugh or roll her eyes. Would it be anyone else that would only annoy Toph but for some reason with Myra she didn't mind at all. With Myra she actually thought about what she was saying, about the consequences, in a not annoying forced way. When Myra would tell her off she actually listened. Oh, spirits be damned, it was the _'she makes me a better person'_ cliché wasn't it. Fuck.

So "Fuck." she said.

Zuko and Sokka took a breather to turn their heads her way.

"Fuck,” she repeated, “I think I'm like. Actually _in love_ with her."

It was silent at the other side of the table.

"Damn," Sokka said and she could hear the wide, smug smile on his face.

"Yeah,” she agreed, “I think I'm just going to have to face the music then, don't I?"

And of course she was figuring it out for herself anyway. Why’d she ever thought these two airheads could help her better than herself. Zuko was doing that exited tapping his foot against the floor thing.

"Yeah, yes I think you should." he said, and Toph smiled at him, genuine.

“Thank you, ~love advisors~,” she imitated, “your help has been greatly useless and frustrating to me.”

“Hey, anytime,” Sokka assured her.

Toph shoved a dumpling into her mouth and groaned.

“Okay, but genuinely thank you for the food,” she smacked her lips, “Heavenly as always.”

“I’ll send my compliments to chef Remy,” Zuko vowed. “You can always come and join us for dinner, Toph.”

And Toph was reminded of how she’d started visiting less and less without any good explanation for the past months. She and Zuko had never spend much time apart after the war, and after Sokka started staying in Caldera more often before settling down neither did they. It warmed her to think they’d missed her and she smiled guiltily.

“I will.”

Zuko hummed at that, pleased. “And don’t be shy and bring your girlfriend too.”

Toph’s face heated up in record time at that and Sokka laughed at the rare sight of a mortifyingly embarrassed Toph Beifong.

“I hate you guys,” she grumped and crossed her arms.

“No, you don’t,” Sokka smirked.

“Hm,” Toph considered, moving her head from side to side, “Maybe.”

It was all they were going to get from her tonight, she’d already reached her limit on sharing genuine feelings. She felt their hearts beat faster anyway. She snorted and picked up her chopsticks to click them together as a threat.

Saps.

She tried to steal a dumpling from Sokka’s plate, who halfheartedly but very loudly defended his turf while Zuko tried to direct them to the communal plate of dumplings in the middle of the table even though he knew it was all about the battle, not the price. Toph came out victorious and then managed to finish the other dumplings too.

They stayed like that for the remainder of the evening, talking and laughing with stretched out limbs and relaxed shoulders. Toph got back at them by asking about future children (which made both their hearts stutter and accelerate in a way that she could imagine a heart attack would feel like) and repaid them by promising to sit in on a future meeting with the agriculture guy because they _‘did not trust him one bit’_ and needed her lie detecting skills to get a read on the guy.

The big bad Fire Lord eventually started yawning and draping himself over his husband and Toph was biting some yawns back herself so they decided to call it a night. They made her promise to be brave and report back as soon as possible and offered her a room to stay the night, and though sleeping in her old room sounded appealing, she declined. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it now; when she had the guts to go through with it and in the middle of the night, just to be troublesome.

She wished them goodnight and let herself out, making her way to Myra’s place.

And even though Toph still felt hopelessly underqualified for this kind of undertaking, she knew that if it all went to shit, she had two shoulders to cry on and a kitchen full of comfort food to dull the pain.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you sm for reading!!! i DONT know why this one took me so long to write lol it had me struggling a bit ngl!! ( me @ me: you cant struggle at everything gorg)  
> my last fic was sad and so is my next one going to be so I had to get this out of my system first ig  
> UGH established zukka is bliss.... also toph is so strong for tolerating them <3  
> it was mildly hard to write from tophs pov since i feel like i write a lot about how things look and such and shes... blind so i obviously cant do that. i did write about movements and stuff since i feel she can perceive a lot through her seismic sense, and that she may have even gotten better at also noticing smaller movements over the years (like shaking a head or putting fingers in the air etc.)
> 
> the conversation abt the homoerotic letters aang and zuko echange is based on this tumblr post i saw about the opistolaries of the avatar and the firelord and i wanted to put a link to it here but i cant find it!! if i find it later ill be sure to put a link here <3 .
> 
>  **skip this part if ur not interested in reading my post atla zukka and toph hc <3**  
> [OKAY so the post atla timeline in my head is like... after the war toph stays in the palace for a while, visits her parents and decides that No she does Not need to ever go back there because theyre assholes. Zuko offers her a place in the palace which shes very happy to accept and serves as a politician lie detector (which is very helpful with all the ozai sympathizers still around) and child monarch de-stressifyer.  
> after a few years sokka comes over like "hiiii..... how yall doing....." because he and zuko have been exchanging letters in between scarse visits and sokka is like 'if i dont shoot my shot now ill literally die i think' and toph helps him romance the firelord Through Schemes and Such but there isnt a lot of romancing to be done because zuko is also like painfully 🥰 already. zuko asks katara for help hes like "please help me get w/ your brother who is suddenly here w/o explaination and takes me out to 'do activities' and buys me flowers, how could he ever love me :/ " and katara is like.... eyebags... yes dear...  
> so eventually katara and toph set up a big and obnoxious candlelight dinner beauty and beast style to get them together finally which works <3  
> sokka still goes to the southpole for 5 months a year because its his home and he likes to help out, one month including zuko. They get married after 4 years when theyre 25. aang officiates the wedding, toph is zukos best man and suki is sokka's, while katara and mai are the wedding planners <3\. everyone in palace fukn loves sokka. Toph moves out of the palace and into caldera with leeched firenation and parent money when shes like 19 to live a life of fun and crime. zuko often comes to bail her out <3\. the ending of this fic is open but in my head she gets with myra and they live happily after ever. all of them still go on lotsa adventures and see eachother often. azula gets healthy and happy. zuko dissolves the monarchy and instates a democracy when hes 40 and prompty retires to travel the world with his husband and dragon. thank you.]
> 
> if you saw any mistakes pls lmk i am not how you say a native english speaker.  
> please tell me what you like / disliked in the comments!! love talking 2 u
> 
> my tumblr [main](https://www.helpmemarty.tumblr.com/) (helpmemarty) and [atla + animation](https://www.animationandshit.tumblr.com/) (animationandshit).


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